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2024 Women’s College Basketball NCAA Tournament Bracket Predictions

by Matt Zitt - 3/19/2024

Women's college basketball NCAA Tournament bracket predictions Bree Hall South Carolina

Let the dancing begin! The 2024 women’s NCAA Tournament bracket is here, and games are right around the corner. South Carolina is the heavy favorite after an undefeated regular season and conference tournament in the SEC. The Elite Eight could feature last year’s National Championship Game with Iowa and LSU, if both teams advance that far in what is the hardest region. The First Four games take place Wednesday and Thursday, with first-round action tipping off on Friday. Doc’s Sports will break down some of the best teams below that can cut down the nets.

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South Carolina Gamecocks -140

The Gamecocks are so good that betting the field vs. South Carolina is even money on DraftKings. Dawn Staley’s squad lost all five starting players from last year’s team that went undefeated until the national semis, where they fell to Caitlin Clark. South Carolina boasts the third-best three-point shooting percentage at 39.7%. Bree Hall, Raven Johnson, and Kamilla Cardoso have led this squad offensively, with the latter earning an All-SEC selection. The Gamecocks have been in some close contests of late, including buzzer-beating three against Tennessee in the SEC Tournament, but make no mistake, this team can ball. They are now 103-3 over their past three seasons. With a chance to win their third title in seven seasons, they can solidify a dynasty label.

Iowa Hawkeyes +550

Caitlin Clark, Caitlin Clark, and Caitlin Clark. Iowa won its third consecutive Big Ten Tournament title and will be a No. 1 seed in arguably the hardest region of the NCAA Tournament. Clark leads Division 1 in scoring with 31.9 PPG, assists with 8.9 APG, and three-pointers per contest with 5.2. She also leads Iowa in rebounding with 7.3 boards per game. Guard play is crucial come tournament time, and the Hawkeyes excel in that category. Coach Lisa Bluder’s team leads women’s college basketball in scoring, averaging 92.8 PPG and assists at 21.9 APG, while also ranking fourth in assists-to-turnover ratio at 1.59. Iowa is good enough to cut down the nets, but the committee did them no favors with LSU, UCLA, and Kansas State in their region.

USC Trojans +4000

The Trojans dropped a 26-5 record this season, and it is the best they have been in decades. They were able to dethrone Stanford by capturing the Pac-12 tournament title. The team is led by the future WNBA prospect in JuJu Watkins. Watkins will be a star this March after establishing herself as the second-best college scorer behind Iowa’s Caitlin Clark with 27.0 PPG. Besides the stelar freshman, they boast a great supporting cast with Rayah Marshall, Kaitlyn Davis, Kayla Padilla, and McKenzie Forbes. This team can go all the way to Cleveland with an experienced coach in Lindsay Gottlieb, who led Cal to a Final Four in 2013.

Texas Longhorns +1500

After losing star guard Rori Harmon to a season-ending knee injury, the Longhorns grinded and battled to finish with a 30-4 record, while winning the Big 12 tournament in their last season before making the jump to the SEC. There is talent up and down this roster, with Freshman Madison Booker averaging 16.9 PPG and 4.9 APG. Texas also features a strong inside game, with Taylor Jones and her 12.4 PPG, Aaliyah Moore averaging 10.9 PPG, and DeYona Gaston’s 8.3 PPG. The Longhorns led the Big 12 in scoring with 81.2 points per contest. The defense takes a hit with the Harmon injury, but this team has the skills to be a Final Four contender.

Stanford Cardinal +1500

Stanford finished the season with a 28-5 record and won the Pac-12 regular-season title in the conference’s final year of existence. There were a ton of question marks after Haley Jones departed for the WNBA as well as three players transferring out from last year's squad. Cameron Brink has been sensational, earning All-American and Pac-12 Player of the Year honors. Two of their five losses came with Brink limited or sidelined in those contests. Kiki Iriafen’s took a massive jump this year as a sophomore and helped Stanford earn a No. 2 seed. Brink and Iriafen combine for 36.4 points and 23.0 rebounds per game. The X-factor will be which guards step up to help the dynamic duo.

UCLA Bruins +4000

These Bruins have the type of core players that can make a deep run in March. Stanford-transfer Lauren Betts has single handedly put the Bruins in the Final Four conversation averaging 14.7 PPG and 9.0 RPG. She is surrounded by an above average guard core in Charisma Osborne, Londynn Jones, and Kiki Rice. The Bruins are the best rebounding team in the nation with a 59.5% rebounding rate, according to Her Hoop Stats. UCLA has some solid nonconference victories over UConn, Ohio State, and Florida State. They will look to avenge their Sweet 16 loss last year at the hands of South Carolina.

UConn Huskies +1600

Another season plagued by injuries, but the Huskies earned a No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament after finishing the year with a 29-5 record. UConn’s five losses all came in nonconference play, and they were perfect against Big East competition. They are led by the duo of Paige Bueckers and Aaliyah Edwards, with the latter missing most of the Big East tournament with a broken nose. She will be available in the NCAA Tournament.  Bueckers averaged 21.3 PPG and was solid on the defensive end with 2.1 SPG and 1.4 BPG. Edwards should be an All-American after averaging 17.8 PPG and 9.3 RPG. These two create one of the most potent tandems in this tournament.

LSU Tigers +750

The Tigers played South Carolina close twice this season and are looking to repeat. Angel Reese has been dominant and earned SEC Player of the Year honors. The Tigers finished the season with a 28-5 record and earned a No. 3 seed for a second consecutive year. Reese has a strong supporting cast in Hailey Van Lith, Aneesah Morrow, Mikaylah Williams, and Flau’jae Johnson. The Tigers have less depth than last year’s squad and do not boast as many marquee wins, but the eye test says watch out for LSU….again.

Teams I am taking to win it all: Iowa and UConn

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